To Bee or Not to Bee ... Pollen

Random Thought:

A friend/fellow dietitian recently asked me about the bee pollen diet.  Honestly, I had never heard of it before, but she was concerned that there are many health concerns associated with it and asked me to dedicate a blog post to it. What the heck is the bee pollen diet, does it work, and is it safe?

Well first of all, it's not a diet; it's a supplement.  Many websites call it a diet, but it's a supplement derived from bee pollen.  The supplement was supposedly formulated by Japanese scientists and is called Zi Xiu Tang or ZXT for short.  I guess the foreign sounding name that means nothing in Japanese makes it sound more awesome?   This is why I hate marketing sometimes.

Bees don't make pollen lol.  Plants do.  The pollen used in this supplement is "bee-collected" pollen, meaning they took pollen from bees who took pollen from plants.  Bee pollen actually has some substance to it, containing fat, protein, carbs, and even vitamins and minerals.  Much like many plants, it also contains phytochemicals (secret extra perks in plants that make them extra good for you).   Many of these phytochemicals are antioxidants.

This bee pollen is supposed to help with weight loss and make you feel energized.  There a tons and tons of websites that promote and sell it.  All of the health claims seem to just be claims, though.  There is very, very little scientific research that supports the testimonials that praise it.  Most of the research is small scale.  Most of them just showed that it doesn't work.  One study even suggests that it makes you gain weight because it improved survival rate and weight gain in baby rats.

With short term use, it looks like bee pollen is safe to use (except for pregnant and lactating women -  they never recommend supplements to them).  If you have environmental allergies, obviously, you should not take it.  This is where major side effects kick in that can even cause death from anaphylaxic shock.  Some other side effects reported were skin photosensitivity, renal failure, and liver damage.

Regardless of the information provided, anyone that knows me knows that I am not a fan of the supplement industry.  Supplements are considered a food (not a drug) by the FDA; therefore, they are not regulated like medications, they don't have to put warning labels, they don't have to verify potency or batch-batch consistency, and they may have contaminants like lead.  Furthermore, there are no quick fixes to health problems, bee pollen included.

References:
http://www.webmd.com/balance/bee-pollen-benefits-and-side-effects
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/bee-pollen-supplements-not-safe-or-effective/
http://healthpsych.psy.vanderbilt.edu/HealthPsych/beepollen.htm
http://www.zixiutangbeepollen.com/
http://www.aseanfood.info/Articles/11011619.pdf